The Impossible Cool: Photographer Sean Sullivan

Our innovative MarkMaker reveals his creative secrets.

Growing a social media empire would be enough for most people; for Sean Sullivan, it was just a starting point. Sullivan started his Tumblr, The Impossible Cool, in 2007, when his day job revolved around curating an inspiration board for a fashion brand. Sullivan took overflow imagery — of icons past like Miles Davis, James Dean, and even Bruce Springsteen in the 70s, largely in black and white — and started his entirely own thing.

In the years since, Sullivan's expanded to other platforms — Twitter, Instagram, Facebook — and brought his huge following with him from NYC to Los Angeles. The LA-based creative does more than curate, however: he's also an image-maker.

Sullivan, who enjoys shooting with film, creates photographs and films for brands and magazines that are inspired by the vintage imagery filling his blog, while his personal Instagram is full of stunning (and again, largely) black-and-white imagery of the storefronts, streets and billboards of modern life and his inspirations. Sean is continuing to set the bar for current men’s style while pursuing a career as a fashion photographer, director and filmmaker.